King of the Idiots
by Discombobulated Saiyan
Summary: First Fanfic! This is what can happen when you jump to conclusions! Vegeta finds this out the hard way when he overhears something about Goku from Bulma and Chi Chi! Chaos will ensue! R&R to find out what happens!


**Disclaimer: **I do not own Dragon Ball Z or GT. So please don't sue!

**A/N**: Thoughts of the characters are expressed thought the use of _italics_. Ooh! Except _Myth Busters_, that was just to signify a title. Now enjoy!

**King of the Idiots**

It was a peaceful morning on Earth, same old, nothing special, and Goku was in the shower preparing for the day.

"Ahhhh . . . . Nothing like a shower to get you ready for the day ahead!" Goku mused as he let the water droplets fall on his face. "Now where's that shampoo?" He looked around until he found what he was looking for and began to apply the shampoo to his spiky hair.

As the soap lathered, as luck would have it, it flowed down in front of Goku's face.

"OUCH!" He yelped, soap dribbling into his eyes. "I hate it when this happens!" Goku grumbled as he put his face directly in front of the shower head and rubbed his eyes irritably until the sting was gone.

"Phew! There we go! Now I need the conditioner . . . " He glanced around the enclosed shower stall until he found the next bottle of hair care and applied it to his hair, careful not to let it run into his eyes this time.

Elsewhere, a certain Saiyan prince was just getting out of the shower.

"Argh! Why does the woman insist on putting pink towels in the bathroom? I live here, too!" Vegeta complained, drying his hair and wrapping a towel around his waist.

When he was done, he looked into the bathroom mirror and inspected his face. I suppose a little shave wouldn't hurt. He thought to himself.

He grabbed the shaving gel, careful not to grab Bulma's this time, and spread it on his face. Vegeta hadn't even had a chance to make the first scrape with his razor when Bulma knocked on the door and hollered through to him.

"Vegeta? Are you done yet?" She asked, rather loudly in Vegeta's opinion.

"No woman! I'm not! Now leave me alone!" Vegeta snapped.

Ignoring his rude reply, Bulma said, "Well, when you're done come on down for breakfast. I've invited Chi Chi and Goku to join us today!" Before he could make the protest she knew was coming, she quickly added, "AND I want you to be on your best behavior!" Then she walked away.

Inside the bathroom, Vegeta wasn't very happy about the news and was holding his razor with unnecessary strength.

_Can't that baka eat at his OWN house?_ He thought angrily to himself as he began to shave.

"ARGH!" Vegeta cried, cutting himself on the neck. The shaving gel that was still on his face wasn't helping the situation, making the cut burn. Vegeta grabbed a towel and dabbed it on the cut to stop the bleeding, becoming angrier as he did so.

"And to think today actually started off nice!" He grumbled while trying to finish shaving.

"Goku, promise me that you'll behave yourself this time?" Chi Chi asked her husband as he drove them to their destination.

"Chi Chi? When haven't I behaved?" Goku asked innocently.

"Well, I see you've already forgotten what happened the last time we ate at Bulma's." She sighed. "Remember when we had that nice dinner and you offered to help set the table?"

"What's wrong with that?" He asked.

"Let me finish." Chi Chi warned, then continued, "That went fine. But when you were asked to pass the potatoes to Vegeta, you tripped on your own foot and they ended up on his head instead of his plate!" She reminded him, remembering how angry Vegeta was that night.

"But I don't understand why you didn't give Vegeta the potatoes. He was right next to you." Goku challenged.

"You **insisted** on passing him the potatoes, remember?" Chi Chi asked.

"Oh, yeah!" Goku exclaimed, finally beginning to remember that night. "No one else could pass them to him unless they got up and I was already up! I remember now!"

"Worse came to worse when you offered to help **clear** the table . . ." Chi Chi groaned. "You gathered all the dishes and made a game out of stacking them on top of each other to see how many you could balance." She sighed. "You got all of the dishes, but then you had to take them to the kitchen sink and that would've turned bad if Gohan, Goten and Trunks hadn't grabbed all the dishes that fell when you tripped . . . again. They placed those dishes on the counter and then you said you'd place the others on the counter yourself until you tripped, for the third time, on a chair leg, shattering all those dishes." She sighed again. "I honestly don't know why after all that Bulma would invite us back. Or why Vegeta would allow her to invite us back!" She finished.

Goku glanced at his wife for a few seconds and then gladly announced, "We're here!" Goku parked in the driveway and both he and Chi Chi got out of the hover car and headed for the door.

"Now Goku. I know you like to help but this time, don't." Chi Chi warned. "We're just here to have a nice breakfast with Bulma and Vegeta." He nodded in reply and Chi Chi knocked on the door. It was Trunks who answered it.

"Mom! They're here!" He called into the house after letting them both inside.

Goku greeted Trunks happily, "Hey there Trunks! How are you? Is Goten around?" He looked around the capsule house for his youngest son who had spent the previous night there.

"Goten? Your mom and dad are here!" Trunks waited patiently for a second then tried calling again. "Goten?!" No answer. He turned back to Goku and Chi Chi who had settled themselves on the living room couch. "Um, Goten and I were playing 'hide and seek' and I guess he thinks this is a trick so I could find him." With that Trunks excused himself and went back to looking for Goten.

After Trunks had taken his search outside, Bulma and Vegeta walked into the living room.

"Good morning, guys!" Bulma said. "Let's go eat!" She led them all into the kitchen and waited for them to be seated while she got the food.

"Hi, Vegeta!" Goku chirped. "Say what happened to your neck?" Goku asked, pointing to the red mark under Vegeta's jaw.

"Hmph! It's nothing, Kakarot!" Vegeta replied, still annoyed by the morning's events.

Wishing to stop any hostility, Chi Chi decided she'd help Bulma serve the food. "Let me help you, Bulma! Wow! You really went all out to make breakfast! We may as well have eaten out!" She exclaimed stacking pancakes on Goku and Vegeta's plates. "These dishes are lovely! Oh, Bulma. I'm so sorry about last time." She apologized while looking at Goku.

"Actually my mom made breakfast!" Bulma said setting the butter and syrup on the table. "These pancakes are my mom's famous buttermilk pancakes! They always go great with her homemade syrup! And thank you! The old ones belonged to my parents. I wanted to replace them, anyway. Don't worry about it, Chi Chi." She reassured.

As Goku watched all the delicious food being placed on the table, his stomach began to rumble. "Wow, this all looks **so** good! I love the way Mrs. Briefs cooks!" He cried. "Are there eggs sunny-side up, Bulma?"

"Oh, there are plenty of those! Don't worry about that, Goku!" Replied Bulma, setting a plate full of scrambled eggs, egg omelets, and the desired sunny-side up eggs in the middle of the table beside the plate of fried ham, bacon, and sausage. She then placed a plate of steaming hash browns beside the meats.

Once all the food had been placed on the table and Bulma and Chi Chi had settled themselves beside their husbands, Goku and Vegeta showed signs of wanting to begin the feast.

Seeing this, Bulma announced, "All right, guys. You can eat now." Though she had seen Goku and Vegeta eat many times before, she still could not believe how quickly things began to disappear off their plates. Realizing if she didn't move fast she wouldn't be able to eat herself, she grabbed the syrup, poured it on her pancakes and began to pile on what food she could salvage. Chi Chi was doing the same.

Half an hour later both Chi Chi and Bulma had long stopped eating and were still waiting for Goku and Vegeta to finish. The table was piled with dirty dishes but to satisfy the Saiyan appetite, there was still plenty of food. It was here that the two women decided that to make room for what food remained; they would have to start washing dishes. They each carefully transported a stack of dishes to the sink and began washing. They weren't fast enough though as dishes kept piling up on the table behind them.

"Bulma, have you seen Trunks?" Came Goten's voice from somewhere else in the house. Hearing sounds from the kitchen he walked in to see his mother, father, Bulma and Vegeta all there. "Hi, Daddy!" He cheerfully greeted his father who was currently stuffing his face with two omelets and what was left of the hash browns.

Goku couldn't respond to his son so he turned and ruffled Goten's hair instead then abruptly went back to eating.

"Hi, Uncle Vegeta!" Goten chirped. He turned just in time to miss the death glare that Vegeta sent him before going back to eating as well.

"Hi, sweetie!" Chi Chi cried as she bent down to hug her son, leaving soap suds on the back of his shirt. "What do you mean 'have you seen Trunks'? I thought you two were playing 'hide and seek?'" She asked.

"We **were** playing 'hide and seek', Mom." Goten replied. "It's just that I think Trunks forgot where I was."

Chi Chi stared at him. "Forgot where you were?"

"Yeah. After we ate breakfast this morning, Trunks and I decided we would play a game. I couldn't think of any games we could play so Trunks said we should play 'hide and seek.' I thought it would be fun because he said we could hide anywhere!" By this time Bulma and Chi Chi had stopped washing dishes to listen to Goten's story and even Goku and – well Goku – slowed down to listen.

"We all saw Trunks head outside to look for you. Where were you?" Asked Bulma.

"Look for me? But I was 'it'!" Goten cried. "I thought I was 'it' because Trunks and I couldn't decide on that either. So then Trunks said the only way to decide was to play 'eeny-meeny-miney-mo' and he pointed at me last! I thought that meant I was it!" He exclaimed, obviously confused.

Both Chi Chi and Bulma just glanced at one another then back at Goten.

"Then Trunks closed his eyes and I left the room to go count somewhere. Awhile later I heard Trunks calling my name but I was still counting so I didn't move. Isn't that how you play 'hide and seek?!'" The frustrated young Saiyan asked.

Chi Chi put her no longer soapy hands on her son's shoulders and said, "No Goten. When Trunks pointed at you that meant you weren't 'it'. Trunks closed his eyes to start counting while you were supposed to go and hide."

Realization spread over Goten's face. "OH!" He exclaimed. "I thought when you were the last one to be pointed at that you were the one who was 'it'! And I thought you played 'hide and seek' by going off to hide and count, then come back and look for the other person!" He put his hand behind his head and laughed, a little embarrassed, proving he's his father's son.

"But Goten? If the person who's 'it' does all that. Then what's the other person supposed to do?" Bulma asked.

Goten looked into her eyes and very innocently said, "Stand there I guess!"

Everyone but Goku and Goten fell over.

_Makes perfect sense to me . . ._ Goku thought.

Bulma was the first to sit up and asked Goten, "But I thought you said that you thought Trunks forgot where you were?"

"Well, yeah. If I was 'it' Trunks would have to know where I was so he wouldn't hide in the room I was counting in." Goten stated matter-of-factly.

Both Bulma and Chi Chi couldn't believe how much sense that made. Goku and Vegeta were now finished eating and could now pay attention to the current situation.

"He really is your son, Kakarot." Vegeta whispered to Goku.

"Gee, thanks, Vegeta!" Goku chirped.

"That wasn't – Oh, never mind." Vegeta grumbled.

Before anyone else could say anything they all heard a voice from outside the capsule house. It was Trunks calling out to Goten. "Goten!!? You can come out now! You win! Goten!?"

Everyone had turned their attention to the nearest window and then they all looked at Goten, who had a surprised look on his face and cried, "Wow! I win?! I never win any games that we play! YAY!" He exclaimed then ran outside to greet his best friend.

"It's really cute how much he reminds me of you when you were a boy, Goku." Said Bulma.

"You really think so?" Goku asked putting his hand behind his head like his son had done only moments before. "Thanks!"

"So, what did everyone think of breakfast?" Asked Bulma's mother who had just walked in.

"It was wonderful, Mom! You really outdid yourself!" Bulma cheered.

"It was really good, Mrs. Briefs!" Agreed Chi Chi.

"Why thank you, dears!" Mrs. Briefs replied. She then turned to Goku and Vegeta. "And what did you boys think?" She asked.

"Good as always, Mrs. Briefs!" Chirped Goku.

A grunt was all that made up Vegeta's reply.

"Oh, I'm so glad you liked it! I was actually trying something new in the way I prepared the potatoes and meats!" She cried.

"Well, whatever it was, it was great, Mom!" Bulma added, carrying more dishes to the sink.

"I'll do the dishes, Bulma dear." Mrs. Briefs said, taking the dishes from her daughter's hands. "You and Chi Chi can go out to the mall or something and have a good time!"

"Are you sure, Mrs. Briefs?" Chi Chi asked.

"Of course! And you two boys can go train or maybe even go enjoy the mall yourselves!" She said once again turning to the two Saiyans.

"Um, training sounds pretty good right now. Don't you think, Vegeta?" Asked Goku turning to the Saiyan prince and smiling.

"Heh! You're on, Kakarot!" Vegeta replied, smirking.

"Wonderful!" Exclaimed Mrs. Briefs. "Now you two girls go have some fun!"

Bulma turned to Chi Chi. "Well, what do you think, Chi Chi?"

"Sure! There's this gorgeous dress I saw at the mall I'm just **dying** to try on!" Chi Chi replied. And with that, the two women left, arm in arm, to Bulma's hover car.

Vegeta and Goku started to head to the gravity chamber when they heard Bulma honking the horn. They turned around and went to stand in the doorway.

"Bye, Goku! We'll back soon!" Said Chi Chi. "You had better behave yourself!" She added.

"That goes for you too, Vegeta!" Warned Bulma.

Goku waved as he said, "Don't worry Chi Chi! We'll probably train the whole time you're gone!"

They stayed a few minutes longer, then pulled out of the driveway and headed into West City, Vegeta and Goku watched them go.

"Seems your woman has you wrapped around her little finger, Kakarot." Vegeta teased.

"Get off my back, Vegeta!" Goku retorted. "Now come on! Let's go train! I'd like to see how much you've progressed since we last sparred together!" He said, turning in the direction of the gravity chamber.

"You mean since yesterday?" Groaned Vegeta, turning to follow him.

"Something like that!" Chirped Goku.

_Why did I agree to stay here longer with this idiot?_ Vegeta asked himself.

_Because we're friends, remember?_ Came an unexpected reply.

"WHAT?" Vegeta exclaimed, stopping in his tracks.

"What?" Goku asked stopping to turn and look at Vegeta.

"Did you say something, Kakarot?"

"No. I didn't say anything Vegeta." Goku responded innocently.

"Don't lie to me! You said something just now, Kakarot!" Vegeta argued, already losing his patience.

"Honest, Vegeta, I didn't say anything." Goku shrugged and continued walking.

"Baka." Vegeta mumbled under his breath and continued to follow Goku to the chamber.

Once they got there, the two Saiyans started exercising to prepare themselves for their sparring session. They decided they wouldn't put on the gravity machine so they could see how well the other fought without any inhibitions.

"All right, Vegeta! Are you ready?" Goku asked going into a fighting stance.

"Just a minute, Kakarot. You can't rush preparation." Vegeta said then turned to face Goku also taking up a stance. "Now then. Shall we begin?" He challenged.

"Yeah!" Cried Goku, charging at Vegeta and throwing a punch. He just missed as Vegeta disappeared. Goku landed and looked all around him. "This is just what I needed today!" He shouted.

"Really?" Came Vegeta's voice from above Goku's head.

"HYAH!" Shouted Goku aiming a kick straight in the air only to have Vegeta catch it. In response to that, Goku kicked Vegeta with his other leg and freeing himself from the prince's grip.

Catching himself in a handstand, Goku looked over just in time to see Vegeta recover from his attack and start speeding after him. Correcting himself and standing, Goku met Vegeta's attack head on and the two Saiyans began exchanging blows with one another.

Every punch Goku tried to land, Vegeta blocked it and every punch that Vegeta tried to land, Goku blocked it.

"You've gotten faster!" Chuckled Goku, his Saiyan blood racing madly through his veins with pure enjoyment.

"I've improved more than just my speed, Kakarot!" Said Vegeta, breaking through Goku's defenses and pounding him with blows that all made contact, causing Goku to be plowed into the floor of the gravity chamber.

In an attempt to get Vegeta off of him, Goku released an enormous burst of energy, sending Vegeta flying backwards into the wall.

"Wow, you were right, Vegeta! You've gotten stronger too!" Goku shouted after him. "It's amazing how much you've improved since yesterday!"

"I train to keep up with you." Said Vegeta, walking away from the wall he had collided with. "But you're not giving up now just because I hit you a few times are you, Kakarot?"

"Not a chance." Goku raised his head to meet Vegeta's gaze and the spar went on.

Outside the chamber, Goten was passing by the door to tell his father and Vegeta that he and Trunks were going on an expedition. "Daddy?" He called. "Daddy, where are you?"

"Goten? Are we gonna go or what? That treasure in that abandoned airship won't be there forever!" Said Trunks as he came to see what was taking so long. "Did you check the gravity chamber? My dad and your dad are probably in there training!" He strode over to the chamber door and knocked.

Back inside the chamber, Goku and Vegeta were about to take their training to Super Saiyan level when Goku heard a _tap tap_ on the door.

He glanced at the door then back at Vegeta. "Vegeta? Does your door usually make that noise or is it just me?"

Vegeta stared at him. "What are you talking about, Kakarot? What are you doing?"

Goku pressed his ear to the door. "Shhhhhh! I can hear voices! Your door can **talk**, too!"

Vegeta slapped his forehead. "Voices? Argh! There's someone outside the door, Kakarot! Open it! It might be your woman!" He ordered.

Getting up off the floor, Goku did as he was told. Opening the door, Goku didn't see anyone. He looked from one side to the other, still not seeing anyone.

"I think it really was your door that was talking, Vegeta. I don't see –" He began.

"Dad! We're right here!" Shouted Goten.

Goku looked down to see Trunks and Goten at his feet. "Oh! Hey boys! What's up?" He bent down to talk to them at eye level.

"Goten and I came here to tell you that there's this cool abandoned airship I heard about that's in the desert somewhere and we wanna go explore it!" Trunks explained.

Goku looked between the two boys and said, "Well, it's all right with me. What do you think, Vegeta?"

"Can we please, Dad?" Trunks begged.

"Yeah! Please, Dad?" Mimicked Goten, Trunks just stared at him.

"You can go." Vegeta said.

"YES!" The two boys shouted and hurriedly rushed off.

Goku watched them go and smiled. He turned back to Vegeta who was waiting to start training again. Goku wiped his forehead. "Okay." He said. "One more round Vegeta and then . . ."

"And then . . .?" Vegeta asked.

"Can we eat? I'm getting hungry!" Complained Goku.

Vegeta fell over.

_Why is everyone falling today?_ Goku asked himself. "Hey Vegeta? Are you okay?" He asked, concerned.

Getting up and dusting himself off Vegeta replied, "Yes, Kakarot! I'm fine!"

"Great! So we can eat when we're done here, right?" Goku pleaded, his eyes sparkling with hope – and his mouth leaking drool in one corner.

Vegeta began to question the taller Saiyan's sanity – like he does whenever they're together – and practically jumped back from Goku as he teleported himself directly in front of the now freaked out Saiyan prince, still with a look of hunger and hope in his eyes. As Goku moved closer, Vegeta found himself pressed up against the wall.

"Stop, Kakarot!" He yelled. "YES! WE CAN EVEN EAT **NOW** IF YOU WANT! NOW GET AWAY FROM ME!"

At these words, the creepy look -- to Vegeta at least -- on Goku's face disappeared as if nothing happened. However, the drool that was hanging out of the corner of his mouth now began to slide slowly down his chin. Vegeta took notice of this and watched, horrified, as it dripped off of Goku's chin. It seemed like one of those slow motion moments he had seen on T.V. as he kept his eye on the little drop of Kaka-spit. He watched as it fell towards its destination; his arm! He had put it up in front of himself to keep Goku away. When it made contact with his bare flesh – he lost it.

"THAT'S **COMPLETELY** DISGUSTING!" Vegeta screamed holding his arm out in front of him as if it were diseased.

Goku, who had missed the whole slow mo moment, watched Vegeta run around the gravity chamber screaming inaudible things at the top of his lungs. Then a smile spread across his face. _Vegeta said we could EAT!_ He thought happily to himself. Not even saying a word to Vegeta, Goku walked out of the chamber, as if he were in some kind of trance, and headed off to raid the fridge in Bulma's house.

Not wishing to wipe his Kaka-taminated arm on himself, Vegeta frantically ran around the chamber to find something to wipe it on. He hadn't even noticed Goku leave. His main focus was on his arm. After awhile, Vegeta realized that he should give the germs back to its source! _Brilliant!_ He thought to himself stopping to look around the room for Goku. He didn't see the brainless Saiyan anywhere!

Goku had made his way back to Bulma's house focused only on eating again. "I guess they're not back yet." He said to himself taking note of the still missing hover car that belonged to his oldest friend. He opened the door and walked inside.

Going through the fridge, Goku thought, I hope Vegeta's alright. Not finding anything he particularly wanted to eat at the moment, Goku seated himself in a chair at the table.

Without warning at all, Vegeta burst through the door of his house, bent on using Goku's shirt as a paper towel.

"**KAKAROT!!!!?**" He roared.

Startled by all the commotion, Goku peered out of the kitchen door to see what was going on.

"Vegeta?" He asked his gaze fixed on the Saiyan prince before him who currently had his back turned.

Hearing the voice he never thought he'd be happy to hear, Vegeta turned around and sped over to Goku and quickly wiped his arm on Goku's shredded shirt.

Confused by what had just transpired, Goku stared at the now relieved look on Vegeta's face and watched him sink into a chair.

"Vegeta? Are you okay? You're all sweaty!" Goku said, looking concerned.

Catching his breath, Vegeta looked up at Goku with his look of "why do you always ask stupid questions?" on his face.

"If you must know, Kakarot," He began. "I've been better." Looking around at where they were seated, for he didn't really look before, he asked, "So, did you find anything to stuff your face with or what?"

"No." Goku replied, hanging his head sadly.

"Really? That's the news of the century." Vegeta teased.

"Well, okay, there were a **few** things in the fridge I wanted to eat." Goku confessed. "But then I realized that I wouldn't want to get Bulma mad at me because I ate all her food."

"That's never stopped you before." Vegeta added. "Besides I thought you said 'there were a **few** things in there' that you wanted to eat?"

"I meant all of it. You guys always have such great food!" Goku cried.

"If anything that's the woman's mother's doing, not mine. She always helps to keep that contraption full." Mumbled the prince, glancing at the refrigerator as he spoke.

"Why were you screaming and running around in circles back there?" Goku asked.

A vein made itself visible on Vegeta's forehead. "That's none of your business, Kakarot!" He snapped.

"Well, all right." Said Goku, still looking at Vegeta suspiciously.

"What are you looking at?" Vegeta growled.

"Oh, nothing!" Goku lied.

Vegeta glared at Goku for a bit then got up and started to walk away.

"Where are you going, Veggie?" Asked Goku.

Stopping dead in his tracks, Vegeta spun around and stared into Goku's eyes, anger and fury once again spilling out of his own.

"What did you call me, Kakarot?!" He practically spat the words.

"Um . . . Veggie?" Goku carefully repeated himself.

Pointing a finger directly into Goku's face, Vegeta stammered, "Don't EVER call me that **EVER** **AGAIN**!" Then he turned on his heel and continued to walk away.

"Okay." Said Goku.

Walking into his and Bulma's bedroom, Vegeta closed the door and started to change his clothes. Outside, Goku sat on his chair backwards and was getting bored. He let out a long sigh and laid his head on his arms which he had folded on top of the chair back. He let out another long sigh. There was complete silence throughout the house. Vegeta was purposely taking his sweet time to change, leaving Goku to thumb wrestle with himself.

"Oh! I lost again!" He said in a high pitched voice pressing one of his thumbs down. "You cheated!"

"I did not! You're just a sore loser!" He said in a deeper voice. He then continued with more thumb wars.

Inside his room, Vegeta was hearing all this and rolled his eyes in annoyance. He sat down on his bed and put one boot on and then the other. Then he slid on his gloves.

"What does that idiot think he's doing?" He silently asked himself staring at the door and hearing Goku's role play from the other side.

Outside, Goku began to get tired of thumb wars which he had affectionately dubbed, "Thumbs Up!" He sat staring at the kitchen floor and let out another long sigh.

"Vege –"

"What Kakarot?!"

"I'm **bored**!" Goku whined.

"That's not my problem! And from what I hear, you shouldn't be bored!" Hollered Vegeta.

"But Bruce decided he should give up wrestling and settle down with a family! He even said goodbye to all his wrestling friends and sailed off into the sunset on his yacht!" Goku said, his tone sounding almost on the verge of tears.

There was a silence from Vegeta's room followed by, "Bruce?"

"Yeah! He's the wrestling champion in Cuticle Villa!" Goku stated proudly.

"Kakarot?" Sighed Vegeta rubbing his temples with his fingers.

"Yeah?" Replied Goku.

"You have **way** too much time on your hands." Vegeta finished, getting up from his bed and going to the door.

"Well, when I'm done training I don't really have much to do." Goku admitted. "Are you okay now, Vegeta?" He asked seeing Vegeta come out of his room.

"Yes, I'm better now, Kakarot." Said Vegeta, walking over to face the taller Saiyan and leaning in the kitchen doorway. "Of course I should be asking **you** that question."

"What do you mean?" Asked Goku.

_I should've known better._ Vegeta thought to himself. "Never mind. Forget I said anything." He told Goku.

"Forget what?"

"Exactly." Said Vegeta. "Come on Kakarot. Let's go find the woman's mother so she can make you something to eat." He said walking out of the house.

"YAY!" Goku cheered following Vegeta outside. "What time is it anyway?" He asked looking up at the blue sky.

"If I had to guess, I'd say maybe 10:45 or 11:00." Vegeta said walking into Capsule Corp.

"Wow. Really? It seems later than that." Said Goku almost to himself following Vegeta inside. "Then Bulma and Chi Chi won't be back for a long time!"

Vegeta said nothing and continued through Capsule Corp. to its living quarters. He went up two flights of stairs to the top floor. He entered into Mr. and Mrs. Briefs' front door which led to the living room. He sat down on the sofa, crossing his legs and folding his arms.

"I forget how complicated it is to get to Bulma's parents' place!" Goku exclaimed walking in after Vegeta and sitting down on the sofa next to him.

"Goku! Vegeta! What a pleasant surprise!" Mrs. Briefs cheerfully said holding a fresh pan of cookies. "Would you two like a cookie?" She offered.

"Thanks!" Chirped Goku, grabbing a few of the cookies and shoving them into his mouth.

"Not a problem Goku, dear!" Mrs. Briefs said then turned to Vegeta. "How about you, Vegeta?"

"I'll pass." Vegeta mumbled, turning away.

"Well, all right! I'll just place them on the kitchen counter if you change your mind!" She declared, walking back into the kitchen. "By the way, lunch will be done in a few minutes!" She added.

"Mmmmm! Thesh cookiesh mar really good!" Mumbled Goku through his mouthful of cookies. "Want one, Begeta?" He offered, holding his last cookie in his hand.

Vegeta gave Goku a disgusted look. "No thanks, Kakarot." And he turned away.

"Mwell, all right!" Goku shrugged and stuffed it in his mouth. He swallowed. "AH! I love chocolate chip!" He smiled and looked over at Vegeta for a minute. "Hey, Vegeta?" He asked. "How did you fix your clothes?" He gestured to Vegeta's clean and no longer tattered blue uniform and clean boots and gloves.

Vegeta turned to Goku and gave him a weird look. "What do you mean 'how did I fix my clothes'? I changed when I walked into my room while you were putting on a soap opera for your fingers!" He exclaimed. "Be concerned with your own clothes, Kakarot!"

"Oh, I see. I didn't know because you never told me where you were going." Said Goku. He glanced at his own orange gi, which was torn in a few places and down at his pants which had a hole in both knees and torn where they met his blue boots. "We really trained hard, huh?" He laughed.

"Yes. And we still have to spend several more hours together." Vegeta said, not sounding at all thrilled with the idea.

"That means that there's more time to train later!" Goku chirped.

Although this did sound appealing to Vegeta, he didn't have much more time to ponder this because from the kitchen Mrs. Briefs called out to them, "Lunch is ready, boys!"

Both Saiyans got off of the sofa and made their way over to the kitchen. They each took a seat and waited for the food to be set on the table. They didn't have to wait long as Mrs. Briefs passed out the plates and bowls and then placed the food in front of them.

"Enjoy! I'll be in the laundry room if you boys need me!" Mrs. Briefs said placing a hand on both of their shoulders then leaving the room.

Vegeta and Goku practically fought over the food laid out before them. Mrs. Briefs had made piles of ham and cheese sandwiches, roast beef and turkey sandwiches and even made a huge bowl of Ramen. A tray of white rice was also present with little scraps of beef on top. Of course it didn't matter much what was there because a little while later it was all gone.

Goku sat in his chair with a satisfied look on his face. "That was great! Don't you think, Vegeta?" He asked looking at the Saiyan prince seated right beside him.

"Yes." Was Vegeta's only reply.

Goku looked at the pile of dishes stacked poorly on the table, dangerously close to falling if there were any sudden movements.

"Hey Vegeta? Think we should at least put the dishes in the dishwasher?"

Remembering what had happened before, Vegeta replied, "I don't think it's a good idea for **you** to handle the dishes, Kakarot."

"Why not?"

Vegeta stared at him. "Don't you remember what happened the last time you wanted to help?" He asked, already anticipating the answer.

Goku thought for a minute then an embarrassed look spread across his face. He put his hand behind his head. "Oh yeah. Good point. Heh heh . . . "

"Glad you agree. Now if it makes you feel better you can go get the woman's mother and tell her we're done. Sound reasonable enough, Kakarot?" Vegeta offered, not wishing to be caught doing housework.

"Uh, okay, sure." Goku said then got up and left the kitchen.

Vegeta himself got up off his chair, left the kitchen and headed back into the living room to sit and wait for Goku.

_I can't be left responsible for anything that idiot might do if I'm not there to stop him._ Vegeta thought to himself.

"Are you sure you won't need any help, Mrs. Briefs?" Asked Goku with Mrs. Briefs hooked around his arm as they both made their way into the living room.

"Oh, don't worry about it, dear! I'll do them!" She chirped, hugging Goku's arm.

The taller Saiyan only looked at her in confusion. He said, "Okay. If you say so."

Mrs. Briefs let go of Goku's arm and waved to Vegeta. "Did you enjoy lunch too, Vegeta?" She asked.

"Oh, he enjoyed it all right!" Goku replied for him. "It was a battle to get some of the food before **he** did!" He chuckled.

Glad he didn't have to answer, Vegeta got up and started for the door.

"Wonderful!" Chirped Mrs. Briefs. She waved goodbye to them both and walked down the hall.

Goku waved back and followed Vegeta out the door. They returned to Bulma's house and sat on the sofa. Goku stared at a spot on the floor feeling uncomfortable with the silence.

"So what do you wanna do now, Vegeta?" He asked.

Beginning to get tired of Goku's presence and knowing he'd have to spend at least another eight hours with him, Vegeta only growled.

"You wanna train more?" Goku asked, not paying much attention to the anger in that growl.

Vegeta glanced over at Goku, sighed and headed for the door. He walked out and closed the door behind him, leaving Goku staring after him confused.

"Are you coming or not, Kakarot?" Vegeta called.

"Oh! Yeah!" Goku shouted and ran out the door.

"You know, I'm surprised you didn't touch those cookies you liked so much." Vegeta said.

"Oh yeah, the cookies!" Goku chuckled. "You know lunch was so good I kinda forgot about them!"

"You're just full of surprises today aren't you, Kakarot?" The Saiyan prince remarked, once again heading into the gravity chamber.

"I guess so . . ." Goku said and followed Vegeta inside.

"All right, Kakarot." Vegeta said, standing at the controls of the gravity machine by the door. "What should we train under?"

"Does 500g sound okay?" Goku guessed.

"Sounds fine to me." Said Vegeta, pressing the desired numbers and entering it into the machine.

A strange _whirring_ sound echoed throughout the room and then it stopped. Both Saiyans felt the pull of the strengthened gravity at their bodies but hardly paid it any heed and prepared to start training.

"Should we continue where we left off, Kakarot?" Vegeta asked, striking a fighting pose.

"Sounds all right with me." Goku replied, also striking a pose.

"So be it." Said Vegeta and transformed into a Super Saiyan. He faced his opponent.

Goku nodded and also transformed. Both Saiyans' golden auras flickered around their bodies increasing and decreasing in intensity until they dissipated completely. The two green-eyed warriors stared each other down deciding on what their first move should be, and then in the blink of an eye, they vanished. The sounds of their struggle were heard throughout the chamber. The sight of it was only seen through the cracking chamber floor that sent debris flying into the air.

Each attack that connected sent a resounding rumble through the air. At last, the two golden-haired fighters split apart and looked at each other from opposite sides of the room. Goku's already tattered orange and blue gi was no longer present on his body and Vegeta's blue gi was showing signs of being worn down.

Goku smiled at Vegeta and Vegeta returned the smile. Then, placing his hands at his side, Goku began gathering energy, forming it into a blue sphere. Vegeta also began gathering energy and formed it into a purplish sphere.

"KA – ME – HA – ME . . . . . ." Goku began shouting out the name of his favorite technique.

"GALICK . . . . . . " Vegeta began the name of his attack as well.

Goku's orb grew bigger in size as did Vegeta's.

"HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

GUUUUUUUUUUN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

Shouting out the last words of their attacks, each warrior released their energy and watched as they clashed against each other in the middle of the chamber.

Vegeta began to think of the day he and Goku first met and how they had used these same attacks on each other. He had been overpowered by Goku's Kamahameha then, but now, years later, they were about equal. Vegeta still didn't believe this to be true. He knew that no matter how hard he trained he could never catch up to Goku. Time and time again, he'd been shown that. Goku fought for fun and to make himself better while Vegeta fought for revenge and to kill. This had been revealed to him when they faced Kid Buu and Vegeta still felt that Goku deserved the title of champion. Gathering all his strength, he pushed his Galick Gun even further, pushing Goku's Kamehameha back a little.

On the other end of the struggle, Goku was also remembering the day he and Vegeta met and how far Vegeta had come to become so strong. He felt happy that Vegeta had chosen the path of good and had been there to fight alongside him over the years. Goku admitted that he had helped to push Vegeta to where he was now, using Vegeta's drive to surpass him as his tool. He remembered how Vegeta was willing to let himself die so Kid Buu could be defeated. He had also sacrificed his life to save those he loved. Now Vegeta was a valuable ally and a good friend though he would never admit it. This made Goku smile. He dug into himself and added energy to his Kamehameha, making his attack and Vegeta's equal again.

With one final push, both Saiyans transferred more energy into their attacks and the room was engulfed in a bright flash of light. A loud explosion was heard and the ground shook. Of course, everyone that worked at Capsule Corp. was used to these sorts of things and quickly dismissed it.

Inside the chamber there was absolute silence. Both Goku and Vegeta lay panting on the floor, now back to normal. The machine that Vegeta had used to change the gravity, Bulma had made to withstand Vegeta's intense training sessions so it wasn't phased at all by what had occurred. The floor of the chamber however was a mess. Little pieces of tile were scattered all over the floor and cracks trailed everywhere.

Goku struggled to sit up against the pull of gravity against his weakened body and how much energy he had expended during the training. He rolled over onto his stomach and stumbled over to the gravity machine. He wearily switched the gravity from 500g back down to 0g and entered it in. Once again the room echoed with the _whirring_ sound and Goku felt all the pressure on his body lifted. He sat down and leaned against the machine trying to catch his breath.

On the other side of the chamber, Vegeta relaxed, finding it easier to move and picked himself up off the ground. He looked around at the damaged chamber and chuckled at how upset Bulma would be that she would have to replace it – again.

Looking over his shoulder at Vegeta, Goku asked, "You all right there?"

Slowly making his way to where Goku sat, Vegeta replied, "Of course I'm all right, Kakarot."

"Great." Smiled Goku and picked himself up and put Vegeta's arm over his shoulder to help him stand.

Feeling exhausted and not having enough energy to refuse Goku's help, Vegeta allowed himself to lean all his weight on Goku. Together the two slowly made their way out of the chamber, through Capsule Corp. and back to Bulma's house. They found Trunks and Goten sitting at the kitchen table eating a snack.

"Hi, Dad." Greeted Trunks.

"Hi, Daddy!" Chirped Goten.

"Hey there, boys." Goku said. "How did your expedition go?"

"Not so good." Moaned Trunks. "The whole airship was ours to explore, but it wasn't as cool as we thought it would be. And the treasure was already gone! There weren't even any ghosts!" Trunks complained folding his arms over his chest.

"You think there could be ghosts there **tomorrow**, Trunks?" Asked Goten.

Trunks' face lit up. "Yeah! They could be there tomorrow!" He cheered.

Goku smiled and took Vegeta over to the sofa and let him sit down. Goku sat down on the other sofa and let his body relax.

_Hmmmm . . . . . 3:29. Chi Chi and Bulma must be having fun at the mall._ Thought Goku, looking at the clock on the wall. He looked over at Vegeta and saw he had folded his arms across his chest and closed his eyes. Goku felt like he could use a nap too and sunk down into the sofa, leaned back his head and closed his eyes.

It was about 9:30 that evening when Chi Chi and Bulma returned from their adventure at the mall. Goku and Vegeta were still sound asleep on the sofas while their sons were lying on the floor in front of them watching T.V. Bulma parked in the driveway and she and Chi Chi grabbed what they had purchased from the back seat of the hover car and carefully made their way to the door of the quiet Capsule house.

Their arms were piled high with packages and bags from various stores at the mall so neither woman was able to open the door. In an effort to get attention, Bulma lifted her foot and tapped the door repeatedly with her shoe and because she ran out of room in her arms and had to put a few bag handles in her mouth she couldn't call to anyone so she just kept tapping the door.

Goten and Trunks were watching a television program when Goten became aware of a noise that wasn't coming from the T.V. He looked all around the darkened room and didn't see anything that would've made that noise on its own so he turned and tapped his best friend on the shoulder.

"Psst. Hey, Trunks?" He whispered.

Without even looking at Goten, Trunks replied, "What is it, Goten?"

"I think there's someone at the door. Listen." Goten said inclining his head to listen for the sound again.

Trunks grabbed the remote and turned the volume down on the T.V. and also listened for a sound. At first, neither boy heard anything but after awhile they heard a gentle tapping that indeed came from the front door.

"See?" Goten said pointing at the door. "Who do you think it is?"

Still looking at the door, Trunks said, "It's probably my mom and your mom, Goten. Go answer the door."

"Kay." The little Goku clone said, going to the door and opening it.

"Finally!" Came a relieved sounding voice from behind a rather large stack of colorful assorted packages.

The first pile of packages trotted inside followed by, to Goten's surprise, yet another pile of packages. Each made their way into the kitchen, Goten watched them go. He closed the door and looked over at Trunks who had gone back to watching T.V. and had turned up the volume again.

"H-hey, Trunks?" Goten stuttered.

Trunks sighed. "What is it **now,** Goten?"

"D-do presents normally have legs and talk?" The younger boy asked, sounding frightened.

This got Trunks' attention and he turned to look at his friend.

"No. Why?" He asked.

"Because that's what was at the door!" Exclaimed Goten.

Startled by Goten's sudden loud out burst Trunks looked behind him at his father and then at Goku, both still sound asleep.

"Shhhhh! Keep it down Goten! You're gonna wake our dads!" He whispered frantically.

"Yeah bu –" Before Goten could get out his argument, Trunks clapped his hand over his best friend's mouth.

"Goten." Trunks whispered into Goten's ear. "Presents don't have legs and they don't talk!"

Pulling Trunks' hand away from his mouth, Goten said, "But they **do** talk, Trunks! And they sound a lot like your mom!"

Trunks stared at him.

"What?" Goten asked innocently and shrugged.

Before Trunks could answer, Bulma and Chi Chi walked into the living room.

"Hey boys!" Bulma said cheerfully. "What's wrong?" She asked, looking from her son to Goten.

Goten stared up at Bulma and then glanced back at Trunks who was still staring at him and had backed off from the younger Saiyan.

"Oh, nothing, Mom." Trunks said finally. "Goten just thought that you and his mom were walking, talking piles of presents." He chuckled.

"Oh, is that all." Bulma said, not particularly asking a question.

"Well, would you look at this?" Chi Chi said while looking at the sleeping Goku and Vegeta. "Isn't that sweet? They got along well enough to sleep in the same room."

"They must've trained too hard and didn't have a choice." Bulma smiled. "Or Vegeta didn't have a choice at least." She said, looking at Vegeta who still had his arms folded across his chest.

"You don't mind if I just leave him here do you, Bulma?" Chi Chi asked, looking at the drooling Goku.

"No, of course not. But you should stay too, Chi Chi. It's too late for you to go home now." Said Bulma.

"But what about Gohan? I have to make him breakfast before he goes to school." Chi Chi asked.

"Oh, that's right! Gohan has school tomorrow, huh? I'm surprised he hasn't been here looking for you and Goku." Bulma said. "In that case, I'll take you home. You can leave your stuff here and come get it tomorrow." She offered.

"Are you sure, Bulma? I don't want to take more time off your hands." Said Chi Chi.

"Don't be silly! Come on. We'll go right now." Bulma said holding up her case of capsules.

"All right then. Come on, Goten!" Chi Chi called.

"Can't I stay here with Daddy?" Goten pleaded.

"You were here all weekend. We'll come back tomorrow." Chi Chi said. "Now come on Goten."

"Okay." Sighed Goten. "Bye, Trunks."

"We'll finish exploring tomorrow!" Assured Trunks.

"Yeah!" Chirped Goten waving, goodbye to Trunks and following his mother and Bulma outside.

Bulma stuck her head back through the doorway. "I'll be back in a bit, Trunks." She said. "Take care of your father and Goku for me."

Trunks nodded then went out to watch his mother, Chi Chi and Goten fly off in a capsule plane. When they had disappeared, he walked back inside and plopped down in front of the T.V. again.

_Mom and Mrs. Goten's Mom sure didn't wake them up so I guess letting Goten talk wouldn't have either . . ._ Trunks thought turning to look at his father and Goku again. Then he turned his attention back to the T.V. and began flipping through the channels.

Meanwhile on the flight to Goku's house in the East District, Goten was fast asleep in his mother's arms while Bulma piloted the plane.

Chi Chi looked down at Goten and sighed, "He sure was tired. What did those boys **do** all day?" Not really expecting an answer, she went on to say, "Thank you so much for the ride home, Bulma. You still didn't have to though."

"Stop it already, Chi Chi!" Bulma said. "What kind of hostess would I be if I didn't make sure my guests got home safe? No thanks is necessary."

Chi Chi just sighed again, suddenly very exhausted from the day's events and hugged Goten tighter to her as they continued to her house in the mountains, the terrain passing underneath the plane changing rapidly.

"Can't wait to hear what Vegeta thinks of those clothes I bought." Bulma mused.

"Oh, I think he'll like them!" Chi Chi chimed. "He'll probably take more notice of you than Goku will of me . . . " She trailed off.

"Chi Chi!" Bulma exclaimed, turning to look at her friend momentarily. "What are you talking about?! Goku notices you!"

"Then why would he rather train than spend a day with me?" Chi Chi asked sadly.

"It's just the way he's built." Bulma explained. "Believe me. Vegeta's the same way. If he's not training, he's not happy. Of course I've never really known him to **be** happy . . ." She paused then went on. "But Goku _does_ love you and he _does _notice you. It's just he's, well Goku. He's always been this way."

"Oh, I know. But it's . . . Nice to hear that from him every now and then . . . " Groaned Chi Chi.

"Goku wouldn't change a thing about you, Chi Chi." Bulma assured. "You can't tell me that you would have Goku any other way. If one day he suddenly took that much interest in you, how would you feel?" She asked once again taking her eyes off the sky to glance at Chi Chi. "Well?" She urged.

Chi Chi thought about this for a moment. How would she feel? She knew she'd like to hear that she's beautiful more from him but that would be so unlike Goku, she admitted to herself. Goku was indeed a kind and loving husband. He was a wonderful father and a great friend. She loved her Goku just the way he was and she really wouldn't want to change him for anything in the world anymore than he would her. She realized she shouldn't feel this way. She had no reason to. She knew deep down that Goku truly loved her and their sons; it just wasn't a very Goku thing to do to say it. Goku wasn't a talker, he was a doer. She looked up and met Bulma's eyes with a smile on her face.

"It would be strange." She finally said.

"Good. That's exactly what I wanted to hear!" Bulma cheered, turning around to safely fly them the rest of the way.

"Thank you, Bulma. I feel ridiculous." Chi Chi said quietly, brushing Goten's hair out of his face.

"Why? You have no reason to feel ridiculous, Chi Chi." Bulma said. "Every woman feels they should hear more from their husbands or boyfriends than they normally do. Sometimes I feel that way towards Vegeta. But I know he cares about Trunks and I, it's just he's too proud to admit it. But with Goku --" She began.

"I know. It's not like him." Finished Chi Chi.

"Exactly. With Goku, you just know." Bulma added. "Now, don't feel sorry for yourself for ever thinking this."

"Thank you again, Bulma." Chi Chi said, now feeling a little embarrassed.

"What're friends for?" Bulma giggled. "Well, looks like we made it home!" She announced as she began to descend the plane.

She landed in the front of the house and opened the doors. The house was quiet, so Bulma assumed that Gohan had already turned in. She watched Chi Chi carry Goten out of the plane and walk to the front door. Chi Chi turned and waved to Bulma and she waved back and waited until Chi Chi opened the door and walked in before taking off.

As Bulma flew back to Capsule Corp. she realized she wasn't at all tired. She figured, though, that as soon as she got home she would be exhausted. She also thought she'd leave Vegeta and Goku where they were on the sofas, carry Trunks to his room if she needed to and go to bed herself.

The ground underneath her began to change from its rough mountain terrain back into cities and villages scattered every which way. Every now and then she'd pass over a lake with little rivers snaking away from it. A full moon was out and the stars sparkled in the sky peacefully. The sky itself was a breathtaking expanse of deep blue. Bulma loved flying in her plane. Since she couldn't fly like Vegeta and Goku she had to make due with her fabulous inventions. Being up in the clouds made her feel uninhibited by the troubles she faced with both feet on the ground. It made her feel so alive!

But it was here that Bulma realized that these thoughts were not the best kind to be thinking at night after a day out on the town while flying a plane! She immediately snapped out of her thoughts and once again put her full attention on the sky; not on how beautiful it was but whether or not she was going to fly into anything! She cursed herself for letting her mind wander and was relieved to find she was almost home.

Ten minutes past and Bulma began to circle her plane lazily around Capsule Corp. deciding on whether to land on the launch pad near her father's lab where she could leave the plane and return it to its capsule tomorrow or in the front yard where she would be closer to the house. All her earlier thoughts had given her less time to ponder this before so she had to do it now. Once again she cursed herself and decided to land in the front yard.

Once she landed, she got out of the pilot's seat and climbed out of the plane. She quickly put it back into its capsule and made for her home, exhausted just like she had predicted. Walking through the door she discovered three sleeping Saiyans. Goku and Vegeta had been joined in Dreamland by Trunks, who was sprawled on the floor with the T.V. still on and the remote in his hands.

Bulma sighed and went over to pick him up and proceeded to carry him to his bedroom. After tucking him in, she returned to the living room and turned off the T.V. then got blankets to cover Vegeta and Goku. Bulma herself got ready for bed and walked into her bedroom. She didn't care that she had left hers and Chi Chi's things on the kitchen table and lay down on the bed. Feeling more drained than she was before, she pulled the covers up over herself and fell asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow.

Around ten o'clock in the morning, Goku began to stir. His neck felt stiff from having his head leaned back all night. Messaging his neck, he straightened and sat up in the sofa. He looked around and thought to himself, _This isn't my house. What's – Oh. Now I remember._ He leaned into the sofa again still trying to wake up.

He felt something cold dribbling down the side of face and instinctively wiped it with his hand. Finding it was just drool; he wiped the rest off his face and looked over at the still slumbering Saiyan prince.

_We've been asleep since yesterday afternoon!_ Goku smiled. _We haven't trained that hard in the longest time! Okay, maybe not since about a day ago. _He admitted. _I wonder if anyone else is up yet?_ He glanced around the room again and listened for any activity. Nothing.

He wondered when Chi Chi and Bulma finally came home yesterday and thought about how tired they both must've been when they did. He didn't recall hearing them come in.

Goku thought, _With that kind of endurance, why doesn't Chi Chi like to train?_

He also thought that if they were both so tired that his wife might've stayed over but he couldn't feel her energy anywhere in the house or Goten's either.

_Guess Chi Chi went home after all. And it feels like she took Goten with her._ Goku thought, getting up off the sofa and stretching. He once again looked over at Vegeta and thought, _Man, how long can Vegeta sleep in?_ He yawned and finished stretching then decided he would turn on the T.V. to pass the time and sat back down.

After awhile he heard noises coming from the one of the rooms off to the side of him. He looked over into the darkened hall and saw Bulma coming out of her bedroom with her robe on, still looking half asleep. She yawned and waved to Goku who smiled and waved back. She made her way into the kitchen and began making coffee.

"Goku? Would you like some coffee?" She asked looking at him from the kitchen doorway.

"Thanks but no thanks, Bulma. Chi Chi won't let me drink coffee at home." He replied scratching the back of his head with his hand and giving his trademark grin. Turning to look at Bulma, he noticed something colorful behind her and peered around her to see what it was.

Seeing that Goku was trying to see past her, Bulma got out of his line of vision and saw he was looking at all the packages and bags still piled on the kitchen table.

"O.O" Goku sweat dropped. "You guys sure did a lot of shopping yesterday." He managed to say, still staring at all the boxes and bags.

Bulma smiled and took a sip of her coffee. "Well, we had plenty of time to burn so we decided to spoil ourselves."

"I see." Goku said, astonished at what he was seeing. "Well, did you guys have a good time?" He asked, tearing his eyes away from the colorful pile on the table and looking at Bulma who now looked fully awake.

"Sure did!" She laughed. "Is he still asleep?"

Goku looked over at Vegeta and laughed. "We had a good time too! We were training almost the entire time you and Chi Chi were gone!"

"I wouldn't expect anything less from leaving the two of you alone. But what were doing when you weren't training?"

"Eating!" Chirped Goku.

"I figured as much." Bulma sighed and put her coffee mug in the sink to wash then went into the bathroom to shower.

Without anyone to talk to, Goku went back to watching T.V. disappointed he couldn't find anything of interest to watch.

Still flipping through channels, Goku heard mumbling and looked over at Vegeta who was shifting in his sleep. Goku watched to see if Vegeta would finally wake up.

Vegeta stretched a little then unfolded his arms and stretched them too. He yawned, opened his eyes and spotted Goku so he closed them shut again thinking he was having a nightmare. He opened them again and discovered that it was no nightmare. He mumbled something and leaned back into the sofa but slid and was now lying on his side.

Goku resisted the urge to laugh at the frustrated and embarrassed look on Vegeta's face and watched him sit up and relax a little.

_Vegeta's funny when he wakes up!_ Goku chuckled to himself.

"Good morning, Vegeta!" He chirped.

A tired sounding grunt was all that was heard as Vegeta stared at the T.V. screen. It was the morning news and nothing of interest was on it, so Vegeta groaned and got up to go to the kitchen.

Goku watched him go and continued trying to find something to watch.

Vegeta got into the doorway and stopped in his tracks. "What the -- ?!" He exclaimed. "What's all this?!"

"That's all the stuff Bulma and Chi Chi bought at the mall." Goku explained.

"Oh." Vegeta grunted. He found that there was still coffee in the coffee pot so he proceeded to make himself a cup.

A door opened and Vegeta heard Trunks say, "Good morning, Mr. Goten's Dad!"

"Hey there, Trunks!" Goku chirped, ruffling Trunks hair.

Vegeta took his first sip of coffee and watched from the kitchen as Trunks sat down on the sofa and helped Goku decide which channel to watch.

Trunks caught sight of him and shouted, "Hi, Dad!"

Another door opened and closed and then Bulma came into view.

"So Vegeta finally got up, huh?" She asked.

"I was babysitting Kakarot all day, woman!" Vegeta snapped.

She looked over at him. "And I see he woke up on the wrong side of the sofa." She teased. "Well, the shower's free if anyone wants to take one."

Vegeta finished his coffee and did just that.

Bulma giggled and turned back to Goku and Trunks. "Well, I have a meeting to go to and afterwards I'm gonna go pick up Chi Chi so she can get her stuff. I'll see you guys later!" She gave Trunks a kiss, patted Goku on the head and walked out the door.

Goku got up and went into the kitchen and peeked into the fridge to see what he might want to eat. Trunks walked in after him, opened a cabinet and grabbed a cereal box. He pulled a bowl out from another cabinet, a spoon from a drawer and sat down on the counter.

Goku looked over at Trunks and stared hungrily at the cereal box.

"Mr. Goten's Dad? Could you hand me the milk?" Trunks asked.

Goku swallowed and grabbed the milk and handed it to Trunks who poured it into the bowl of Rice Krispies which _snapped_, _crackled_ and _popped _loudly.

"Hey, Trunks?" Goku asked almost pleadingly. "Can I have some?"

"Uh, sure. Here's a bowl." Said Trunks handing it to him.

"Great!" Cheered Goku, taking the bowl and grabbing a spoon then pouring a massive pile of cereal into his bowl.

"Um, Mr. Goten's Dad?" Trunks began, sweat dropping. "Maybe you should use a bigger bowl." He finished, handing Goku a huge salad bowl.

Goku glanced down at his pile of cereal with little pieces of rice tumbling off of it then looked up at the salad bowl.

"Why?" He asked.

Trunks looked at Goku confused and said. "Just pour your cereal in here." He held the salad bowl out to Goku again.

"Uh, okay." Goku said sounding confused and took the salad bowl and carefully poured his cereal into it. The cereal barely filled half the bowl and Goku looked disappointed. He grabbed the cereal box again and poured what was left in it into the bowl.

Trunks stared disbelievingly at Goku, because neither he nor his father was allowed to eat the whole box at once, and picked up the empty cereal box and peered inside. _There wasn't even a prize!_ He thought sadly and tossed the empty cereal box into the trash can.

Goku then picked up the milk and poured it into his entire box worth of cereal and started to munch happily at it with his little spoon. It was only little compared to the huge bowl and the huge amount of cereal.

Trunks hopped off of the counter and walked back into the living room to sit on the sofa and ate his cereal leaving Goku in the kitchen. He flipped through the channels again and settled on watching some cartoons. Goku walked into the living room as well and sat on the floor, still munching happily at his cereal.

Vegeta came out of the bathroom with a pink towel wrapped around his waist and nearly cried out to see Goku sitting in his living room but remembered he had spent the night and calmed down a bit.

"Hi, Vegeta!" Chirped Goku through a mouthful of cereal.

Vegeta growled and stomped into his bedroom to get dressed. He trusted that with Trunks around Goku wouldn't entertain himself by thumb wrestling but he thought it wouldn't hurt to listen.

So after he was dressed he prolonged his time in his room by pressing his ear against the door. All he could hear was the sound of one of Trunks' shows playing. Becoming bored of waiting for Goku to do something stupid, Vegeta walked out of his room and went into the kitchen to get some breakfast. He searched the cabinets for the cereal box that Bulma had bought the day before yesterday but couldn't seem to find it.

"Trunks? Where's that brand new box of cereal?" He demanded.

"Uncle Goten's Dad ate it all!" Trunks replied.

"What?!" Vegeta cried. _And not a prize in sight._ He mentally noted.

"Sorry, Vegeta." Goku said nervously as he walked into the kitchen with his now empty salad bowl. "Is that the only one you had?"

"Never mind, Kakarot. I'll just make myself a sandwich." Grumbled Vegeta as he rummaged through the refrigerator.

"That's a weird thing to have for breakfast but okay. Can I have one?" Goku asked.

"Make yourself one." Vegeta said, handing the taller Saiyan a loaf of bread.

"All right." Said Goku, putting his bowl in the sink and placing the bread on the table. He watched as Vegeta put all kinds of things to put in the sandwiches on the table.

Goku grabbed two pieces of bread and a butter knife and spread mayonnaise on one slice and mustard on the other. He put lettuce, tomato, lots of cheese and every sandwich meat at his disposal in between the slices and topped it all with jalapenos and a little bit of pepper.

Vegeta finished his own sandwich as well and walked into the living room to eat it, taking a seat in Goku's sofa. Goku followed him and took a seat by Trunks.

"Hey, Vegeta? Do you guys have root beer?" Goku asked.

"In the fridge." Vegeta mumbled.

"I'll get it!" Trunks said and ran into the kitchen and brought Goku his root beer and ran back into the kitchen so he could make himself a sandwich too.

"Thanks, Trunks!" Chirped Goku, opening the can and drinking from it then taking a bite out of his sandwich.

"Trunks?" Vegeta called.

"Yeah, Dad?" Trunks replied from the kitchen.

"Bring me a root beer as well."

"Okay, Dad!" The refrigerator door opened and closed and Trunks ran into the living room handing his father the root beer.

"Thank you." Vegeta said. "Now where's your mother?" He asked.

"She's at a meeting." Goku answered.

Vegeta froze. _What?! A meeting?! She left me alone again with this baka?!_

"What's wrong Vegeta? You look like you just saw a ghost." Said Goku, concerned.

"N-nothing, Kakarot." Vegeta lied and opened his can of root beer which exploded in his face. "TRUNKS?" He roared. "DID YOU SHAKE THIS?"

"Nuh-uh, Dad. Not me!" Trunks said nervously.

Vegeta turned his gaze to Goku.

"What're you lookin' at me for? I didn't do it!" Goku exclaimed knowing very well what that gaze meant. "You shook it before you got that scared look on your face!" He explained. "Was it something **that **bad?"

"Oh, forget it, Kakarot!" Vegeta growled licking up what root beer wasn't on his face or on the floor and put the can on the little table beside his chair and got up to go wash his face off in the bathroom. He came back with a towel to clean up what was on the floor – because he knew if he didn't Bulma would never let him hear the end of it -- all the while looking very annoyed. After tossing the towel in with the dirty clothes, Vegeta walked back into the living room and sat back down on the chair. He ate the rest of his sandwich which he had laid on the chair side table before opening his root beer and stared at the T.V.

"Toss me the remote, Kakarot." He ordered.

Goku did as he was told and Vegeta flipped through the channels to see what he could find to watch. As he did so, he wondered how long Bulma would be at her meeting and whether she would come straight home afterwards. He wasn't sure if he could stand another full day in Goku's company.

Meanwhile, Goku watched the concentrated look on Vegeta's face and wondered what he could be thinking. He had gone through all the channels almost twice, which was saying something because there were at least 600 channels and he had only been flipping through them a few minutes!

_I wish our remote could change channels that fast!_ Goku thought.

"Um, Vegeta? Maybe we can watch the Animal Planet for awhile?" Goku asked.

Vegeta snapped out of his thoughts and stopped on the Animal Planet. It was a documentary on spiders. Vegeta mentally shuddered. He hated creepy crawly things. Of course Goku had to pick the channel that was showing something that unnerved him. He was just about to excuse himself and walk off somewhere when Bulma came through the door. Vegeta felt relieved to see her. At last he wouldn't have to stay with Goku by himself anymore!

"Hey, guys!" She said. "Trunks make sure you put that away when you're done."

"Okay, Mom." Trunks replied from the kitchen.

"So you're meeting's over, eh, woman?" Vegeta asked hiding his appreciation for her presence.

"For the last time, Vegeta, my name is Bulma!" Bulma exclaimed, then sighed and went on, "Yes, my meeting is over. Now I'm gonna go pick up Chi Chi so she can get her stuff and her car." Bulma said.

Vegeta froze again. _Dammit._

"Vegeta? What's wrong? Is that documentary on spiders scaring you **that** much?" Bulma asked, concerned by the look on Vegeta's face.

"He's doing it again?" Asked Goku walking over and kneeling in front of Vegeta who didn't acknowledge that Bulma or Goku were even there. "He's been acting funny today."

Bulma felt Vegeta's forehead. "He doesn't feel warm. Maybe you guys should find something else to watch. Stuff like this makes Vegeta nervous."

"Okay." Goku said, grabbing the remote from Vegeta's hand and changing the channel to the Discovery Channel which was airing _Myth Busters_.

"Goku, your clothes look terrible! Here take this." Bulma said and handing a him a capsule. "It's a gi you can change into."

"Thanks Bulma!" Goku chirped.

"No problem. I'm gonna go pick up Chi Chi now so I'll see you later!" She said and once again walked out the door.

Still kneeling in front of the still distant Vegeta, Goku waved his hand in front of his face. "Hey Vegeta?" He called. "Vegeta, are you in there?"

_Why must I be cursed so?_ Vegeta thought to himself. _Why can't that idiot be out of my life for at least one day? He has others to annoy doesn't he? Like that Namekian. Surely Kakarot could spend a day with him and spare me at least a day? And what about that little nimrod, what's his name? Krillin. Yes that's it. They're best friends aren't they?_ He continued to ponder this; completely oblivious to what was going on around him.

"Is Dad gonna be okay, Uncle Goten's Dad?" Trunks asked, munching on the sandwich he just finished making and watching Goku try to bring his father back to reality.

"I'm sure he's fine Trunks. Vegeta's just, um, letting his mind sleep. I'll wake him up!" Goku said and raised his arm to carefully aim a punch squarely in Vegeta's face.

_It's not fair._ Thought Vegeta leaving his depressing thoughts behind and coming back to reality again. He moved his head to the side just in time to miss a punch to his face by Goku. "Kakarot! What the hell do you think you're doing?" He yelled, glaring at Goku while Trunks choked back a giggle.

"See? Told you I'd wake him up!" Chirped Goku to Trunks. "Sorry Vegeta." He apologized. "I really didn't want to do it but I saw on T.V. once that if you hit someone who's really deep in thought, you can snap them out of it!" He smiled proudly.

"Did it also say that if you do that that someone would hit you back?" Vegeta asked dangerously.

"No, I don't think so." Goku said, scratching the back of his head.

"What're you laughing at?" Vegeta growled at his son who nearly choked on his sandwich.

"Nothing, sir." Trunks lied, trotting over to the sofa across from his father and sat down staring at the crazy antics that were unfolding on T.V.

"What's that the woman gave you, Kakarot?" Vegeta asked, looking back at Goku, sweat dropping to find him trying to catch his own finger. Vegeta watched for a few seconds, the corner of his eye twitching.

"Darn it!" Goku grumbled, once again failing at the impossible. "No matter how fast I move, I still can't catch it! You say something Vegeta?" He asked, still looking heavily concentrated.

"Yes. As a matter of fact I did. Now stop that and pay attention!" He snapped, grabbing Goku's finger before he could attempt another capture.

"See? How come you can catch it! This game's rigged!" Goku whined.

Vegeta stared at him. "Kakarot . . ."

"No, I'm listening Vegeta." Goku said, looking up at Vegeta.

Vegeta let go of Goku's hands and asked, "What's all that down there?"

Goku looked down on the floor. "Oh this? This is your remote Vegeta. You use it to change the channels on the T.V." He explained, holding it up for Vegeta to see.

Vegeta slapped his forehead. In the background, he heard Trunks giggling.

"What's so funny?" He growled.

"This sh-show!" Trunks snickered actually referring to Goku and his father.

"Good then watch it!" Vegeta ordered not catching on to Trunks' reference. He turned once again to Goku. "Not that, Kakarot! The capsule!" He said frantically, trying to keep from losing his temper completely.

"Oh that! Bulma gave this to me." Goku said, putting down the remote and holding the capsule in the palm of his hand.

"Well, what's in it?" Vegeta asked. "Your brain?" He smiled.

"Why would she have that in here? Bulma's not the doctor in the family." Goku said, clueless as to what was being implied.

Vegeta frowned. "Never mind that then. What's actually inside the capsule because it would take a microscope to locate _your_ brain."

"Bulma said there's a new gi in here for me." Goku explained.

"A new gi? What the hell is she giving **you** a new gi for?" Vegeta asked.

"Well, cuz the one I'm wearing is all torn up and stuff." Goku said. "Speaking of which, can I use your bathroom?"

"Go ahead. Because you're certainly not changing out here." Vegeta said, turning to face the television screen.

"Well, I could if you don't want me to use the bathroom." Goku said.

Vegeta's face flushed red and a vein pulsed in his forehead.

"JUST GO CHANGE YOUR DAMN CLOTHES, KAKAROT!" He yelled.

"Okay." Goku said, placing the remote in Vegeta's lap and walking into the bathroom.

Vegeta heaved a frustrated sigh. He looked over at Trunks who was practically dying from hiding his laughter. Tears streaked down his face and his cheeks were puffed up with air. Vegeta grinded his teeth and tightened his grip on the arm of his chair.

"Uncle Goku sure is funny!" Trunks managed to choke out. He really wished that his mother was home to protect him from the murderous look his father was giving him right now. He sucked up all that laughter and gulped nervously.

"You think so, _huh_?" Growled Vegeta. "'Uncle,' _huh_?" _Not over my dead body will that baka **ever** become part of my family._ He thought to himself.

"Um, I'm gonna go p-play video games in my room." Trunks stuttered, easing off the sofa and backing into his room then shutting the door and locking it.

Vegeta eased back into the sofa feeling superior knowing that at least his own offspring knew who was boss. He picked the remote up from his lap and put it on the table and watched what was left of that particular episode of _Myth Busters_.

Inside the bathroom, Goku admired his new gi. It was the same orange and blue that he always wore but holding it, he felt heavier weights in its material than his previous outfit.

"I wonder how much is in here." Goku thought out loud to himself. "This gi must weigh at least 40 tons and the boots a good 30 each! This is great! I can always count on Bulma to be on the ball about these things." He excitedly took off his old clothes and put on the new ones, anxious to train with the new weights. "They're not as heavy as I thought but they'll be some workout when I train!" Goku gushed. He folded his tattered old uniform and put them in the capsule. He figured he'd let Chi Chi decide what to do with them later.

Back outside, Vegeta could hear mumbling coming from the bathroom.

"Now he's talking to himself? If I thought Kakarot had a brain I would say he's lost it." Vegeta chuckled then stopped. _What the – Now he's got me doing it!_

Goku walked out of the bathroom with a big smile on his face. He practically skipped to the sofa and sat down. He laughed delightedly to himself.

Vegeta cocked an eyebrow at his behavior and had to ask, "What are you so happy about, Kakarot? Have you finally lost it completely?"

"Nope!" Goku replied and chuckled happily. "It's even better!"

Vegeta decided to overlook how little sense that made and questioned further. "Well, what is it then that has you laughing like a crazy lunatic?"

"The gi that was in that capsule that Bulma gave me has heavier weights than the last one and is made out of a much sturdier material!" Goku excitedly explained bouncing up and down on the sofa with glee as he spoke. "I can't wait to try it out in training!"

Vegeta sweat dropped. "You're this excited about something like that?"

"Mm hm! Sure am!" Goku chirped. "Wouldn't you be?"

"Let me respond to that in the following way; No." Vegeta stated.

"Gee, why not, Vegeta?" Goku asked, the smile on his face replaced with curiosity.

The Saiyan prince didn't see any harm in explaining this so he went on to say, "Well, Kakarot." Vegeta began. "Why be so excited about clothes that are bound to get torn up in a matter of minutes during a training session? It doesn't make any sense. Of course coming from you, I don't know why I'm surprised." Finished, he sat back in the sofa and watched as the Myth Busters smashed a car between two semi trucks.

Goku thought about what Vegeta said before answering. Yes, that's right, he **thought** about it!

"I guess the reason I'm so excited about them is because I know I'm gonna get even better clothes when these ones are all torn up!" Goku said, throwing his hands in the air.

Vegeta didn't turn to look at Goku but only looked at him from the corner of his eye.

"If you go by that logic with everything else in your life, Kakarot, I'm surprised you've made it this far." He said.

"What do you mean, Vegeta?" Goku asked tilting his head to the side like a puppy.

"I don't see why I should waste more of my time explaining that to you. Figure it out yourself." Vegeta sighed and shook his head.

Not knowing what else to say, Goku looked at the floor for a bit to see if he could come up with something interesting to discuss. He looked up at the ceiling and behind the sofa and **in** the sofa, but all he found there were dust bunnies and about $1.50 in change. He sunk into the seat of the sofa and sighed, then looked to the opposite corner of the sofa where Trunks was sitting just before he went to change clothes. He blinked, feeling there was something missing but not knowing exactly what it was. After a few more seconds, he got it.

"Hey, Vegeta?" He asked.

"What is it, Kakarot?" Vegeta grumbled, sounding annoyed.

"Didn't you used to have a table over by that wall?"

"Yes. It's the one right beside me now." Vegeta said.

"Oh, that's right." Goku said nodding. Then he noticed something else was amiss. "Where's Trunks?"

"He's in his room playing video games." Vegeta answered.

"Oh." Goku said.

There was an awkward silence. Goku shifted uncomfortably and stared down at his boots. He sighed. He looked up at the clock; 12:43. It was past lunchtime already and Goku began to feel hungry. He wanted to go make another sandwich but he didn't think there was much of anything left to make a decent sandwich. He sighed again.

"What's wrong with you, Kakarot?" Vegeta asked with more irritation in his voice.

"Hm? Oh, nothing, Vegeta. Why?" Goku asked.

"Don't lie to me, Kakarot. You've been far too quiet these past few minutes. Something's on your mind. Now what is it?"

"Wow. You can tell a lot in just a few minutes, Vegeta!" Goku said, impressed.

"It's nothing. Now what's bothering you?" Vegeta asked again.

"Well," Goku began. "I do have this horrible cramp in my neck that's been bothering me since this morning." He rubbed the back of his neck in discomfort.

Vegeta fell off of the sofa. How he did it was a mystery to Goku since he was sitting so perfectly on it. He got up and stared at Goku.

"I don't care about your neck!" He yelled. "What is it that's making you sigh so much? It's driving me insane!"

Goku just sat and looked at Vegeta innocently, trying to figure out how Vegeta fell off of the sofa.

"Oh, that." Goku said, giving up on how the Saiyan prince suddenly ended up on the floor. "I was trying to think of something to say so I looked all over the room to see what would seem interesting to talk about. I tried looking behind the sofa but I didn't find anything there. Then I tried looking **in** the sofa but all I found were little pieces of lint and all these shiny coins!" He explained and held up the coins so Vegeta could see. "Then I looked over to that side of the sofa and noticed something was missing. I couldn't put my finger on what that something was, which I guess makes sense being that that something isn't there to put a finger on. So, I thought about it for a bit and discovered that there used to be a table over there so I asked you if I was right and you said I was and that it was that table over there." He pointed to the table beside Vegeta and continued on. "Then I noticed something else was missing and realized it was Trunks so I asked you where he was and you said he was in his room playing video games. Then I looked down at my boots which I noticed have a little smudge on one side. I looked up at the clock and it said it was 12:43, which by the way it isn't now, and then I sighed and then you asked my what was bothering me and then I said it was a cramp in my neck and then you fell over and –"

"SHUT UP, KAKAROT!" Vegeta interrupted unable to listen to Goku's long winded explanation any longer.

Goku stopped in mid-sentence and whined, "But **Vegeta**! I was just getting to the **good** part!"

"I don't care! I understand what was bothering you now and a whole lot more besides! If I wanted to hear the events of the past five or six minutes, I would've asked!" Vegeta complained and took a deep breath.

"Oh, I forgot to mention I was getting hungry!" Goku announced, slamming a fist into his open palm.

"So is it **that** that's really bothering you or is it the lack of something to talk about?" Vegeta asked, hoping the answer wasn't as long as the last one.

"Well, it's not for lack of something to talk about cuz we're talking about something now!" Goku chirped while Vegeta just groaned.

"Okay then. Say no more. I know now that it's because you're hungry." Vegeta said.

"Really? How'd you know that?" Goku asked.

Vegeta slapped his forehead. "Forget it, Kakarot. Let's just get something to eat." He sighed, getting up to leave the house. "Do me a favor and don't say anything until we're sitting down to eat." He added.

Goku got up to follow Vegeta and the two Saiyans headed off for Mr. and Mrs. Briefs' living quarters in Capsule Corp.

"Vege –" Goku started to say.

Ahead of him, Vegeta held up a hand for silence. "What did I just say, Kakarot?" He asked.

"Oh, sor –" Goku tried to apologize.

"Shut up!" Vegeta ordered.

"O –"

"Quiet!"

"All –"

"No!"

"But –"

"Nah!"

"Can –"

"Argh!"

"I just –"

"Would you just **SHUT UP!**" Vegeta screamed as they entered the top floor of Capsule Corp.

Completely frustrated, Vegeta sat down in a huff on the living room sofa and said nothing while Goku sat beside him, doing his best not to say a word. Having heard the commotion, Mrs. Briefs came into the living room holding a laundry basket.

"Oh, good afternoon, you two!" She said happily. "Let me just put this down and you can come have some lunch if you want!" And with that she disappeared from sight again.

Vegeta didn't say a word and neither did Goku. Mrs. Briefs walked back into the living room looking as perky as ever and stood in front of the two Saiyans, unaware of the tension.

"I'm so glad you came by! I just finished lunch a little while ago! Come on!" She started walking off again and Vegeta got up to follow her, not even looking in Goku's direction as the taller Saiyan walked solemnly behind him.

They entered the kitchen, each still not saying a word and sat down just as quietly. Goku looked over at Vegeta and opened his mouth as if about to say something but Vegeta looked over at him and Goku abruptly closed his mouth. Mrs. Briefs hummed as she got their food and served it to them in the same manner.

When she was done, she touched both of their shoulders and said, "Well, here you go, boys! Enjoy!" Then she left the room.

Goku looked up at Vegeta again and the look on his face asked the question for him. Vegeta nodded and began to gather food onto his plate. Goku smiled and started to gather up food as well.

Today's menu consisted of kabobs with little slices of beef, shrimp, crab and assorted vegetables. Creamy mashed potatoes alongside two saucers filled with gravy and butter. Steamed rice and rice balls and some sushi finished the scrumptious buffet.

Both Saiyans gorged themselves like they had done the previous day and because Goku was so busy eating, he never said a word which was why Vegeta had asked him to wait until they sat down to eat. Goku of course was none the wiser about this and continued to pig out.

Fifteen minutes later, there was another large pile of dishes stacked crudely on the table. Before the two Saiyans could get up to leave the kitchen, Mrs. Briefs walked in and asked them how they liked lunch.

"It was great as usual, Mrs. Briefs!" Exclaimed Goku the satisfaction very clear on his face.

"Oh, thank you, Goku dear!" Mrs. Briefs gushed. "How about you, Vegeta?"

"Quite exceptional." Vegeta replied.

"Glad you boys enjoyed it! Don't worry about the dishes! I'd be happy to do them!" Said Mrs. Briefs. "You boys run along now!" She walked past them and went on to doing the dishes, humming.

Vegeta and Goku left Mrs. Briefs to her work and went back to Bulma's house. Before entering, Vegeta stood outside the door.

"What's wrong, Vegeta?" Goku asked, looking confused.

"Kakarot." Vegeta began. "Since you want to break in that new gi of yours so much, you can go ahead and use the gravity chamber for that." Vegeta offered.

"Really? I can?!" Goku asked, now sounding anxious and he began to bounce up and down with excitement.

Vegeta nodded.

"COOL!" Goku cheered and started to run off in the direction of the chamber then stopped when he saw Vegeta wasn't following him. "Aren't you coming, Vegeta?" He asked, puzzled.

"If I come with you, your clothes won't last half as long then if you trained by yourself." Vegeta explained. "You go on ahead. We'll train later."

"Oh, okay! I get it! Come on by when you're ready, Vegeta!" Goku waved and ran off to the gravity chamber like a kid at an amusement park.

Vegeta smiled and turned to walk into the house but heard a plane overhead, so he looked up at the sky, shielding his eyes from the sun. It was Bulma's plane.

_The woman's back from picking up Kakarot's mate._ Vegeta thought and continued on inside.

He sat down on the sofa and found Trunks had come out of his room.

"Where's Uncle Goku?" Trunks asked.

"Training." Vegeta said.

"By himself?"

Before Vegeta could answer, the front door opened and Chi and Bulma came in through it, laughing. Goten ran in after them and he and Trunks ran out the door. Probably to go explore that airship again, Vegeta thought. He turned his attention on the T.V. but couldn't stay focused on account of Chi Chi and Bulma's constant talking and giggling in the kitchen. He wondered what was so funny that they hadn't even stopped to say hello. He tried to listen and inclined his head to hear better. The sofa he was sitting in had its back to the kitchen so they wouldn't see what he was up to.

He was about to get in on what they were talking about when Bulma's voice suddenly began to get louder. Vegeta quickly acted like he had been watching T.V. and heard Bulma go outside the front door. Chi Chi followed soon after. He could hear them laughing out in the driveway and guessed that they were moving Chi Chi's packages into her hover car. He figured it would be useless to try to hear what they were saying and keep pretending he wasn't trying to. He told himself it may not be worth knowing because it might actually turn out to be nothing more than incessant gossip that women usually take interest in talking about. He kept thinking this and was on the brink of ignoring the matter completely when the two women came in and he caught a snippet of their conversation.

" . . . When it comes to that, Goku's the king!" Bulma giggled.

"Yes. But I love him for it! I wouldn't have it any other way!" Chi Chi sighed.

The two women then started laughing again and walked into the kitchen to get more packages. Still whispering to each other and giggling, both went back outside.

Vegeta just sat there, confused.

_What could this mean?_ He thought. _What could Kakarot be king of? Is he better than me at something? I know one thing he's better at and that's being the biggest idiot I've ever met. He can have that title any day but it must something better than that to make his woman so happy. I can't have Kakarot better than me at anything! I've already admitted he's a better warrior than me! King is higher than prince! What can he possibly be so good at as to earn such a title?! I can't allow this! **No** one is king before the Prince of Saiyans! **No one**!!!! It was here that Vegeta was determined to prove to those two who truly was the king. Those two don't know what I've admitted so when Kakarot and I train later, I'll show them! We'll fight until one of us can't fight anymore! Not till the death. I'm not allowed to do that anymore. But until the other can no longer stand!_

He clenched his fist and decided to wait until 3:00 for the ultimate test. So he sat and waited anxiously for the time to come.

Well, it turns out that Vegeta just couldn't wait that long and at around a quarter to two, he dragged Chi Chi and Bulma to the lab.

As they walked there, Bulma was rushing to keep up with Vegeta and asked, "Vegeta? Why on earth are you so bent on having Chi Chi and I watch you and Goku train?"

"You'll see." Was all Vegeta said as he rushed the two women into Bulma's lab and up to the computer where Bulma controlled the monitor that was set up in a compartment in the chamber and then sped back out.

"Goku's right. He **has** been acting strange." Bulma said as she turned on the computer and activated the twin screen in the chamber. The screen _blipped_ on and an image of a lone Goku training in the chamber became visible. Goku hadn't noticed the huge monitor slowly emerging from the ceiling and remained focused on his task. Dr. Briefs walked in and saw the two women gathered around the computer screen.

"Oh, hello, Bulma. Chi Chi." He said, walking up behind them. "What're you two looking at?"

"Good afternoon, Dr. Briefs." Chi Chi greeted him.

"Hi, Dad. Vegeta wants us to watch him and Goku train." Bulma answered.

"Oh, well that's nice, dear." Dr. Briefs said. "Well, I'd love to stay and chat, but I'm needed all over today." Saying this, he turned, pet Scratch, his little black cat perched on his shoulder, and walked back out of the lab. Bulma and Chi Chi just watched as Goku stretched and listened to what he was saying.

"Vegeta was right!" He said to himself. "My clothes wouldn't have made it through five minutes if we had trained together right away!" He did many complicated flips and threw some kicks and punches into the open air. "This new gi is great! Bulma really outdid herself!"

"Thanks, Goku!" Came a familiar voice from somewhere behind him.

"Huh?" Goku looked around confused. "Bulma? Is that you?"

"Look behind you, silly!" The voice giggled.

Goku turned and looked up at the screen that displayed images of Bulma and Chi Chi laughing at him.

"When did this come down?" Goku asked, referring to the appearance of the monitor.

"It's been up for quite some time, Goku. You were just too distracted to notice." Bulma told him.

"Oh, all right." Goku said.

"Hi, sweetie!" Chirped Chi Chi from beside Bulma.

"Hi, Chi Chi." Goku responded, unsure as what to make of why he was being watched.

"Vegeta should be getting there to train with you pretty soon, Goku." Bulma warned.

"Already? Sweet!" Cheered Goku. "I feel ready now! This uniform you made is excellent, Bulma!"

"You made that, Bulma? I like it!" Chi Chi commented.

"Thank you! I've made several copies of yours and everybody else's uniforms, just in case." Bulma stated proudly.

Before the conversation could continue, the chamber door opened and Vegeta entered looking very focused. He walked out to where Goku was standing and faced the screen overhead, while carefully being watched by Goku, Bulma and Chi Chi.

"Now, you'll all see who is truly the best." Vegeta stated.

"Vegeta. What are you talking about? You never let me watch you train. Why is today any different?" Bulma asked, looking very concerned.

"What? What do you mean? Vegeta? What's going on?" Goku asked.

"Why don't you ask those two?" Vegeta scoffed.

"Well, all right then. What's going on?" Goku asked Bulma and Chi Chi.

"I honestly don't know, Goku." Bulma said. "When we had finished putting all of Chi Chi's things into her car, Vegeta rushed us over to the lab only saying that he wanted us to watch the two of you train. We're just as confused as you are." She shrugged.

"Ha! That's a laugh, woman!" Vegeta snorted. "You two of all people should know why you're here."

"All right then. We do. Now why don't you tell us what it is so we can be sure _you_ know." Bulma said, looking very sure of herself.

"Bulma? What – " Chi Chi began to say but Bulma interrupted her.

"Shhh. You'll see." Bulma whispered.

The Saiyan prince scowled and cocked an eyebrow. Goku stood amongst all this confused out of his mind.

"I know what you're trying to do, woman, and it won't work." Vegeta said finally. Bulma kept a straight face trying not to show her disappointment. "If you want to know so much, you'll just have to watch and see." He turned to Goku who had his hand on his chin. "Let's go, Kakarot."

"Go where, Vegeta?" Goku asked, surprised by the sudden change of subject.

"Prepare yourself." Was all Vegeta said as he crouched into a fighting stance.

"Oh. I see." Goku nodded and crouched as well.

Chi Chi and Bulma watched anxiously from the safety of the lab as their husbands squared off against each other. The look on Vegeta's face was the most focused and determined that Goku had seen and he still wondered what all this could be about but he held his tongue and waited to see if Vegeta would make the first move.

Still watching to see who would attack first, Bulma tried to think of what could've made Vegeta want to do this. She knew Vegeta lived for outdoing Goku, but she had seen somewhat of a decline in this behavior ever since the fight with Majin Buu. When asked as to why he wasn't as competitive as he used to be, he would always say, "None of your business!" and walk away. After awhile, she dismissed the matter, thinking that maybe Vegeta and Goku had finally become friends. She didn't have much more time to consider this as the battle finally got under way with Vegeta transforming into a Super Saiyan 2 and teleporting himself behind Goku and slamming his fists into the back of his head, sending Goku flying.

Goku didn't have time for recovery as Vegeta appeared behind him again and sent him flying in the opposite direction. Vegeta then sent a barrage of energy blasts in Goku's direction. Before long, the chamber was filled with dust.

"Bulma? How is the computer withstanding all this?" Chi Chi gasped.

"I installed some really strong barriers to protect it, but I don't think they'll last much longer." Bulma explained, scanning the screen for any signs of movement.

Before the dust had completely dissipated, the two women heard rumbling noises and noticed the computer shaking where it hung. Neither knew what to make of this because neither had actually witnessed the two Saiyans train, so admittedly both were rather nervous.

Suddenly, all noise stopped and as the last of the dust cleared, they saw both Goku and Vegeta staring each other down from opposite ends of the chamber. With all the commotion they had just caused, Bulma was both relieved and impressed to find that neither Saiyan had taken on much damage. That was more than she could say for the chamber itself, however, because from the warriors' almost constant training, the tile on the floor was either cracked severely, missing or made into little piles of rubble. Sparks flashed violently across the screen. The barrier around the computer wasn't going to hold up much longer and all the energy outside the barrier may in turn destroy the computer itself.

Since Goku was finally free from Vegeta's relentless onslaught, he was able to transform, which he did to even the odds. He transformed into Super Saiyan 2 like Vegeta had before him. Without skipping a beat, Goku and Vegeta charged at each other at an incredible speed. As soon as they met, they vanished. More rumbling was heard and flashes of energy were seen, not just from the screen, but from the two warriors themselves. Bright gold flames shot across the chamber like sparks of lighting that were allowed to run free from the storm.

They met once again on the ground, staring at each other. Goku had a big smile on his face, but Vegeta still looked focused. The gi Bulma had given Goku to change into was beginning to fall apart and Vegeta's outfit was no better. The two Saiyans themselves had little cuts and bruises wherever skin was exposed or where there were rips in their clothes.

Vegeta wiped the blood from the side of his mouth and said, "Stop toying with me, Kakarot! Fight me with all you have!"

Goku's smile faded and he said, "But Vegeta. I have been – "

"Don't you tell me you've been giving me your all, Kakarot!" Vegeta spat. "You can transform into a Super Saiyan 3. **That's** your all."

"But Vegeta, I can't hold that form very well. I haven't had enough time to practice it in life." Goku explained.

"Well, here's your chance to practice! Transform! **NOW!**" The Saiyan prince ordered.

"Vegeta! What's wrong with you?" Bulma called out to him. "The chamber might not be able to handle that much energy!"

"That's right." Goku said. "Vegeta. You heard her. I can't transform in here."

"Then we'll just have to finish this somewhere else!" With that, Vegeta walked out of the chamber leaving behind a confused Goku and concerned Bulma and Chi Chi in his wake.

"Guess I'd better go after him." Goku said, leaving the chamber as well.

"If he wanted us to watch, why did he leave the chamber?" Chi Chi said, a little frustrated.

"I don't know, but come on! We are gonna see this all the way through!" Bulma grabbed Chi Chi's arm and led her out of the lab and out to the front of Capsule Corp. where she threw a capsule and released her plane. Both women climbed inside and waited for any signs of Goku or Vegeta.

It wasn't long before they saw Goku come out of Capsule Corp. looking around for Vegeta. He paid no mind to Bulma's plane and flew off, obviously sensing Vegeta's energy, followed soon after by Bulma and Chi Chi in the plane.

Before long they came to a deserted plain far from the city. Bulma landed the plane on a plateau overlooking the area where she assumed Vegeta planned to continue the fight. Goku landed in the chosen area facing Vegeta.

"Now, Kakarot!" Vegeta yelled. "Transform!"

"All right, Vegeta. But don't say I didn't warn you." Goku replied and began to power up.

The air around Goku's glowing body seemed to freeze. His Super Saiyan aura brightened and crackled with energy. At his feet, blades of grass and pebbles swirled around him. Veins pulsed on Goku's arms and neck and his yell echoed across the plain. The plateau on which Bulma had landed began to shake violently so she pushed a button on the plane's counsel that would secure the plane where it stood.

As the energy being emitted increased, Vegeta was seen trying not to get blown backwards by the amazing event unfolding before him. He'd seen this power before, but he wanted to know what it would be like to fight against it himself. He felt Goku's energy sky rocket with every passing second, which felt like an eternity, and began to doubt whether he would even be able to put up a decent challenge. Still, he looked on at Goku. He put his arms in front of his face defensively as rocks flew at him and Goku's aura brightened.

The ground beneath Goku's feet heaved and cracked, adding to the debris already flying through the air. His hair steadily lengthened and his muscles grew slightly in mass. Mountains around him collapsed and trees splintered, unable to stand against the high amounts of power being pushed at them. Even the sky itself felt the extent of Goku's power. The clouds completely changed the direction in which they were traveling. A small cluster of them swirled in a circled high above the battlefield. Lightning flashed, and some of the bolts hit Goku directly. Chi Chi was concerned about this but realized that it wasn't lightning. It was energy.

The plateau collapsed and Bulma was forced to hover precariously in the air, not daring to land anywhere else until the ground stopped shaking. She could see that Vegeta was constantly being forced back. Trails of dirt snaked in the ground where his feet had dragged. Her job wasn't any easier as she kept getting pushed back as well and she was forced the keep repositioning herself in the air.

Goku's hair had grown full Super Saiyan 3 length and the ground beneath him had collapsed in on itself, leaving a huge crater. His yell had become noiseless now and with one final push, the air around him was blasted back with enormous force and then all was quiet.

The surge of energy had sent Bulma and Chi Chi spiraling backwards and away from the battlefield. Vegeta had been flung backward despite all his effort to stay on the ground and he pulled himself out of a pile of rubble that was once a mountain. A rock was perched on the top of his head, but Vegeta was too busy trying to see through all the dust that still fizzled with the left over sparks of Goku's transformation to shake it off.

Bulma's plane had been slammed against a mountain that didn't collapse and she was desperately trying to get it unstuck. Both she and Chi Chi were fine and so was the plane, being made out of tougher stuff than normal planes and all. Prying herself loose from the crags of where they impacted the mountain side she carefully piloted back to battlefield. The sight that met their eyes was astonishing. The battle hadn't even begun and already the plain was in disarray. Chi Chi spotted Goku and gasped. Bulma landed a safe distance away and turned on the computer monitor to get a better look. She closed in on Goku and gasped as well. The area in which he was standing from the start looked nothing like it did before and Goku looked different as well. His golden hair was waist length and the way his face looked made him seem sterner. A single strand of hair was freed from the rest of his wild locks and drooped over his brow.

Locating Vegeta, Bulma closed in on him as well and saw he was fine but the look on his face held awe, but he hid it with determination and made his way over to Goku to face him, shaking off the rock on his head as he did so.

"Well, Vegeta. Is this what you wanted?" Goku asked.

Vegeta said nothing and only smiled.

"Too bad we can't hear what they're saying." Bulma sighed.

Both warriors went at each other again. They moved with much more freedom so it was harder for Bulma to follow the battle with her computer. She kept it focused on the area where they disappeared. The rumbling was much louder since they were witnessing it firsthand and all around them they watched indents being made into the ground. Debris flew up in the air and right beside them, what was left of a cliff exploded. Once again, the plane was blown back and the screen on the computer went blank. Pulling out of the multiple barrel rolls they were sent into, Bulma landed even further away from the heated battle. She messed with the computer and got it to display images on the screen again and she and Chi Chi continued to watch this power struggle.

As hard as Vegeta tried, he couldn't lay a hand on Goku. And even when he did, it didn't seem to hurt the other Saiyan at all. When Goku landed a blow on him, it seemed like he got all he put into his blows back and then some. Vegeta wasn't fast enough to keep up with the super-powered Goku but felt he was still being toyed with. He doubled over in pain as Goku drove a fist into his gut and was tossed into the ground as Goku clasped his fists together and brought them down on his back.

Goku was losing energy with every attack and he wasn't even utilizing all that this transformation was worth. He really didn't want to hurt Vegeta and wasn't exactly sure why he had gone so far to make him transform into a Super Saiyan 3. Whatever point Vegeta was trying to make, it was dangerous. He wished Bulma and Chi Chi hadn't followed them and was glad to see that they were at least keeping somewhat of a safe distance. He was impressed at how Vegeta was able to hold his own against him this long and hoped he would realize he could not go on much longer and stop before he gets seriously hurt. He watched Vegeta struggling to stand and knew he was low on energy as well and losing it at a much faster rate.

Vegeta cursed to himself as he struggled to stay on his feet. He looked up at Goku, who didn't appear to be phased at all by anything he was dealt. Tired of this charade, he called up to Goku, "Stop holding back on me, Kakarot! I don't need you to go easy on me!"

Goku looked shocked. He said, "Vegeta, you know as well as I do what'll happen if I use all my strength."

"Shut up! I told you to give me your all! Don't hold back for my sake!" The proud prince argued.

"No, Vegeta." Goku protested.

"Dammit, Kakarot!" Vegeta roared.

Goku stared down at Vegeta and reverted back to normal. "You can't fight anymore. And if I kept going, there wouldn't be anything to prove yourself against." He explained firmly, landing in front of the injured prince.

Vegeta looked away from Goku and spat blood on the ground, panting heavily. He straightened up with difficulty. Goku tried to help him but was pushed away. Vegeta walked past him and stopped a short distance away.

Before Goku could ask what was wrong, he saw Bulma's plane fly closer to where they were and land. Chi Chi ran out of the plane and flung her arms around his neck. Bulma got out of the plane as well and ran over to Vegeta.

"All right, Vegeta, out with it!" Cried Bulma. "Why did you do this?"

"I thought you knew, woman." Said Vegeta teasingly, finally reverting to normal.

"You know I only said that to drag it out of you! Now tell us!" Bulma ordered.

"Still think Kakarot's the king?" Vegeta asked.

"King? King of what? What're you talking about?" Asked Chi Chi.

Realization replaced the anger on Bulma's face. "What gave you that idea?" She asked, seeing if her assumptions were right.

"I heard you two babbling at the house." Vegeta answered. "I wasn't trying to listen, though. It was hard to avoid hearing what you two were talking about when you were talking so loud."

"You overheard us talking? What did you hear?" Bulma asked.

Goku stood amongst all this, confused as usual. He was glad that he would finally hear what led to all this because he was getting hungry. Placing his hand on his chin, he listened carefully.

"Something about Kakarot being the king of something and you," He gestured to Chi Chi, "not having it any other way."

"That? You heard _that_? We were talking about how Goku's so funny and how much he makes us laugh!" Chi Chi snickered.

"O.o;" If it were possible, Vegeta's jaw would've dropped to the ground. He stood dumbfounded.

"You guys really think I'm funny?" Goku asked.

"Yeah!" Bulma smiled and then turned to Vegeta. "So, you did this because you were jealous of Goku?" She asked, folding her arms and staring at her husband.

_He's the King of Comedy?_ Vegeta thought to himself. _I made a complete fool of myself! I don't believe this! I **knew** listening to their senseless babble wouldn't be worth my time!_

"Bulma, Vegeta's got that look again." Said Goku, waving a hand in front of Vegeta's face.

"He probably feels stupid now." Bulma laughed.

"Guess we could call him King of the Idiots!" Teased Chi Chi.

"That seems about right." Bulma smiled and walked back to her plane with Chi Chi, both of them laughing.

Goku watched as they took off in the plane then he looked at the quiet Vegeta.

Taking advantage of Vegeta's lack of response, he said, "I don't think you're King of the Idiots, Veggie! I think you're King of My Best Friends!" He chirped, patting the prince on the head and flying away.

Snapping out of his reverie, Vegeta yelled. "I HEARD ALL THAT, KAKAROT!" He gave chase to the taller Saiyan. "GET BACK HERE!"

"You're gonna have to catch me first, Veggie!" Goku called back at him. Flying past Bulma's plane, both Saiyans sped back into the calm of West City as the sky faded from daylight to dusk.

END


End file.
